In this paper, we derive a structural model for commuting speed. We presumethat commuting speed is chosen to minimise commuting costs, which encompass bothmonetary and time costs. At faster speed levels, the monetary costs increase, but the timecosts fall. Using data from Great Britain, we...

Why are regional unemployment differentials in Europe so persistent if, as the wage curve literature demonstrates, there is no compensation in labour markets? We hypothesize that workers in high-unemployment regions are compensated in housing markets. Modelling regional unemployment...

In this paper, we employ search theory as a micro-economic foundation for the wasteful commuting hypothesis. It is argued that the commute of the self-employed is the result of a search process for vacant workplaces, whereas employees search for vacant jobs through space. Because the arrival...

We introduce and apply a method for estimating workers' marginal willingness to pay for job attributes employing data on job search activity. Worker's willingness to pay for the remaining duration of the employment contract is derived. We provide evidence that workers attach substantial value to...

We develop an equilibrium job search model in which employees incur commuting costs, and residential relocation is costly. We demonstrate that firms partially compensate workers for the incurred relocation costs to avoid paying compensation for commuting costs.

Fringe benefits of various kinds have become an essential element of modern labour market mechanisms. Firms offer transport-related fringe benefits such as transport subsidies (company cars, travel and parking subsidies) and relocation subsidies to job applicants. The spatial implications of...

We develop an equilibrium job search model in which employees incur endogenous commuting costs. This model leads to the following conclusions:1.Firms partially compensate workers for the incurred commuting costs.2.When workers have more bargaining power, they will receive less compensation for...

Transaction costs have attracted considerably attention in the theoretical literature on residential mobility. In many European countries, these costs mainly consist of ad-valorem transaction costs. In the current paper, we demonstrate empirically for the Netherlands that the transaction costs...